UK - NPI Ventures announces partnership with Biofusion

The key terms of the partnership are NPI Ventures has established a £10m side fund dedicated to investment in Biofusion’s current and future portfolio companies. NPI Ventures will make a strategic 7.4% equity investment in Biofusion by subscribing for 1,496,445 ordinary shares in Biofusion at 133.65p per share. NPI Ventures will receive warrants in Biofusion, exercisable at prices between £1.50 and £2.20 per share. If all of these warrants are exercised NPI Ventures will have approximately a 22% shareholding in Biofusion.

Biofusion was incorporated in 2002 to commercialise university intellectual property. Biofusion’s first agreement was with Sheffield University Enterprises Ltd, to convert the University’s most exciting ‘Life Science’ intellectual property, including all medical based research and medical applications, into self-sustaining commercial enterprises. Biofusion’s partnership with Sheffield University works on the simple premise that all parties are more efficient and effective if they are able to concentrate on their core skills; Sheffield University focuses on creation of medical life science IP, while Biofusion focuses on its commercialisation.

Since its IPO in February 2005, Biofusion has made investments in three of Sheffield University’s portfolio companies and established two new standalone companies, Lifestyle Choices, which launched its first product in January this year in the female fertility sector, and Genophrenix, which was established in February 2006 to capitalise on the discovery of specific proteins that are involved with a key biochemical pathway implicated in a range of neuropsychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia. In addition a number of Biofusion companies have made significant commercial advances, including the successful completion of clinical trials by Diurnal Ltd, a 60% subsidiary, and a significant contract win by Axordia, Biofusion’s stem cell business, in which Biofusion owns a 36% stake.

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